Amos 6:1-9
Amos 6:1-10 The Message (MSG)
Woe to you who think you live on easy street in Zion, who think Mount Samaria is the good life. You assume you’re at the top of the heap, voted the number-one best place to live. Well, wake up and look around. Get off your pedestal. Take a look at Calneh. Go and visit Great Hamath. Look in on Gath of the Philistines. Doesn’t that take you off your high horse? Compared to them, you’re not much, are you? Woe to you who are rushing headlong to disaster! Catastrophe is just around the corner! Woe to those who live in luxury and expect everyone else to serve them! Woe to those who live only for today, indifferent to the fate of others! Woe to the playboys, the playgirls, who think life is a party held just for them! Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life without pain! those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles! They could not care less about their country going to ruin. But here’s what’s really coming: a forced march into exile. They’ll leave the country whining, a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings. GOD, the Master, has sworn, and solemnly stands by his Word. The God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: “I hate the arrogance of Jacob. I have nothing but contempt for his forts. I’m about to hand over the city and everyone in it.” Ten men are in a house, all dead. A relative comes and gets the bodies to prepare them for a decent burial. He discovers a survivor huddled in a closet and asks, “Are there any more?” The answer: “Not a soul. But hush! GOD must not be mentioned in this desecrated place.”
Amos 6:1-9 King James Version (KJV)
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
Amos 6:1-9 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Woe to those who are at ease in Zion And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria, The distinguished men of the foremost of nations, To whom the house of Israel comes. Go over to Calneh and look, And go from there to Hamath the great, Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms, Or is their territory greater than yours? Do you put off the day of calamity, And would you bring near the seat of violence? Those who recline on beds of ivory And sprawl on their couches, And eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall, Who improvise to the sound of the harp, And like David have composed songs for themselves, Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, Yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles, And the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away. The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, the LORD God of hosts has declared: “I loathe the arrogance of Jacob, And detest his citadels; Therefore I will deliver up the city and all it contains.” And it will be, if ten men are left in one house, they will die.
Amos 6:1-9 New Century Version (NCV)
How terrible it will be for those who have an easy life in Jerusalem, for those who feel safe living on Mount Samaria. You think you are the important people of the best nation in the world; the Israelites come to you for help. Go look at the city of Calneh, and from there go to the great city Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. You are no better than these kingdoms. Your land is no larger than theirs. You put off the day of punishment, but you bring near the day when you can do evil to others. You lie on beds decorated with ivory and stretch out on your couches. You eat tender lambs and fattened calves. You make up songs on your harps, and, like David, you compose songs on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the best perfumed lotions. But you are not sad over the ruin of Israel, so you will be some of the first ones taken as slaves. Your feasting and lying around will come to an end. The Lord GOD made this promise; the LORD God All-Powerful says: “I hate the pride of the Israelites, and I hate their strong buildings, so I will let the enemy take the city and everything in it.” At that time there might be only ten people left alive in just one house, but they will also die.
Amos 6:1-9 American Standard Version (ASV)
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border? —ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music, like David; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore shall they now go captive with the first that go captive; and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away. The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
Amos 6:1-9 New International Version (NIV)
Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come! Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours? You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end. LORD The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself—the LORD God Almighty declares: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.” If ten people are left in one house, they too will die.
Amos 6:1-9 New King James Version (NKJV)
Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, And trust in Mount Samaria, Notable persons in the chief nation, To whom the house of Israel comes! Go over to Calneh and see; And from there go to Hamath the great; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory? Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near; Who lie on beds of ivory, Stretch out on your couches, Eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall; Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, And invent for yourselves musical instruments like David; Who drink wine from bowls, And anoint yourselves with the best ointments, But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, And those who recline at banquets shall be removed. The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it.” Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.
Amos 6:1-9 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are at ease and carefree in Zion (Judah) And to those on the mountain of Samaria who feel secure, The distinguished men of the foremost of nations, To whom the house of Israel comes. [Luke 6:24, 25] Go over to Calneh [in Babylonia] and look, And from there go [north of Damascus] to the great city of Hamath; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms [of yours], Or is their territory greater than yours? Do you put off the day of punishment, Yet cause the seat of violence to come near? ¶Those who lie on [luxurious] beds of ivory And lounge around out on their couches, And eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall, Who improvise to the sound of the harp— Like David they have composed songs for themselves— [1 Chr 23:5] Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls And anoint themselves with the finest oils [reflecting their unrestrained celebration]; Yet they are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph (Israel). [Gen 49:22, 23] Therefore, they will now go into exile with the first of the captives, And the cultic revelry and banqueting of those who lounge around [on their luxurious couches] will pass away. ¶The Lord GOD has sworn [an oath] by Himself—the LORD God of hosts, says: “I loathe and reject the [self-centered] arrogance of Jacob (Israel), And I hate his palaces and citadels; Therefore, I shall hand over the [idolatrous] city [of Samaria] with all that it contains [to the Assyrian invaders].” And it shall come to pass that if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die [by the pestilence that comes with war].
Amos 6:1-9 New Living Translation (NLT)
What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem, and you who feel secure in Samaria! You are famous and popular in Israel, and people go to you for help. But go over to Calneh and see what happened there. Then go to the great city of Hamath and down to the Philistine city of Gath. You are no better than they were, and look at how they were destroyed. You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer. How terrible for you who sprawl on ivory beds and lounge on your couches, eating the meat of tender lambs from the flock and of choice calves fattened in the stall. You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be great musicians like David. You drink wine by the bowlful and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions. You care nothing about the ruin of your nation. Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly, all your parties will end. The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his own name, and this is what he, the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, says: “I despise the arrogance of Israel, and I hate their fortresses. I will give this city and everything in it to their enemies.” (If there are ten men left in one house, they will all die.
Amos 6:1-9 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Woe to you living so comfortably in Zion! Woe to you who live with a false sense of security on Mount Samaria, the elite of this foremost nation, on whom Israel’s people pin their hopes. Travel to the city of Calneh and see for yourself what happened. Then go on from there to Hamath, the great capital city of the Hittites. Make your way down to Gath in Philistia, and ask yourself— are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours? You refuse to consider the day when disaster will come, yet all your evil only brings that day closer. Lying on luxurious beds inlaid with ivory and sprawled out on your couches, you feast on lambs from the flock and stall-fattened veal. You compose songs like David and strum away on your harps. You guzzle wine by the bucketful, and slather yourselves with the finest lotions. Yet you do not grieve over Israel’s impending doom. That is why they will be the first to go into captivity. Their lying around while enjoying the good life will come to an end. Lord YAHWEH has sworn by his own being — YAHWEH, God of Angel Armies, declares: “I hate the pride of the people of Jacob, and I despise their strongholds, I will hand over their capital city to their enemies and everything in it.” Even if there are ten hiding in a house, they will all die.
Amos 6:1-9 English Standard Version Revision 2016 (ESV)
“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes! Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory, O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence? “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music, who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.” The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, declares the LORD, the God of hosts: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds, and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.” And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.